Wednesday, December 31, 2008

happy new year!

i can't say that i had a horrible year. sure, there were highs and lows - but aren't there always?
nevertheless i am due for a good year. the last time i had a year that i could look back on and say "what a great year!" was early 2000s. i'm ready for a good one.

please, God, make it 2009!

be good tonight, but most importantly, be safe.

lots of love,
catch you on the flipside,
xoxo
Lola

Tuesday, December 30, 2008

men who sew

so i bought two pairs of jeans from Akira when I went to visit N in Chicago nearly 2 years ago(?)
Maybe more... anyway... together they cost me over $400. Since then, I've worn holes into the crotches of both. Not sure why the holes on both pairs are in the same area... hmm..

Over Thanksgiving, CMo and I were at craft and fabric stores so I decided to buy some patches. I didn't have my jeans on me so I guessed at the color. Bad guess. the patches are a dark jean color and the jeans are a totally different color. However, I brought the pair with the worst holes (the Rock and Republic pair) to AZ with me along with the patches. I've been wearing this pair with long shirts so you can't see the holes. Saturday night I decided to iron on the patches since I had so much time on my hands. I asked L for the iron and when he asked me what for I told him I was ironing patches. He then asked me if I knew how to sew patches and I was like "um, if i did, i wouldn't be using the bad patches". so I patched the first hole and it looked RIDICULOUS. seriously RIDICULOUS. after i did it i could not stop laughing for real. I wish I had a picture. it looked like half a butt pad had been added to my jeans. L and V also laughed at me and before I attempted to patch the other hole and make the jeans look even more ridiculous L said he'd sew some better patches with some old jeans he had lying around. 
When he said this I about died. A) he knows how to sew B) he has a sewing machine. I mean...WHAT? Not only does the man know how to cook...really cook...but he knows how to sew. Quite a catch that one! ;)
Anyway, before I left he sewed the patches on my Rock and Republics and they are good as new. They look awesome. My brother-in-law is better than yours!
hahahahhahaa

do over

i'm not happy with my one post about my trip to AZ, so...do over...
since booking my flight to arizona in late october, i was thinking i had to work xmas eve. i even asked one of my friends who lives/works in the same neighborhoods to come scoop me and my luggage in the morning, take me to my office and i'd leave my office at like 5 and take marta to the airport. well, turns out i had xmas eve off the entire time. so i did laundry at C+R's during the day to waste time. i then took a cab to marta from my house and was on my way to the airport. i'm trying to remember if there were any funny stories on the plane. since i took a xanax and a benadryl once i boarded, i couldn't tell you. i was knocked out. good thing too. i get really anxious on plane rides over 2 hours.
i got into arizona at 10ish arizona time, midnight my time. my sister warned me that checked luggage always takes forever to get out (she clearly has never waited at Atlanta Hartsfield for luggage) so she picked me up at 10:45. actually, the luggage did take awhile.
so i think i've mentioned that my sisters and i have never really been close. they always had each other, i mean they ARE twins. but since getting older and getting married and having babies, we've gotten closer so my sister and i chatted it up on the 30 minute drive to Gilbert, AZ where she lives. i asked her if we'd venture into phoenix downtown and do touristy things during my stay, and she said she thought i might ask her that. turns out phoenix doesn't really have a proper downtown and all the suburbs surrounding phoenix, like gilbert, are replicas of "downtown" phoenix, which is to say they are retail meccas. so really, we didn't need to leave gilbert. and we never did. we were supposed to go to sedona on saturday, but we never made it out because baby V hadn't slept all Friday night and was fussy all day saturday. 
i forget what time i woke up on Christmas morning, but i imagine we did the same things you did. we opened gifts. took some pictures. chilled. we took the dogs out for a run. i should say they took ME out for a run. i've said this before, but since i have no shame i'll say it again... my sister gave birth to baby V on October 25....so she still has a lot of baby weight (she admits this and hates it, so don't look at me like that for calling it out), Cargo, the black lab, is probably the laziest dog you've ever met. He doesn't "retrieve". Atlas, a year-old Beauceron, is the only real athlete of the 3. he's a herding dog. very intelligent. scary looking (think dobermanish), but very sweet. anyway. we all went running to one of the million dog parks in gilbert. THEY ALL BEAT ME. i started off running with cargo - because he's the slowest. i don't think i went further than half a mile before i had to give him back to my sister. They took off shortly thereafter. I don't know how my sister does it. She hasn't done it often, but she has gone running with Cargo, Atlas and the baby. um, what?!
In the evening, all of us (my sister, my brother-in-law, the baby, my brother-in-law's brother (similarly lazy to Cargo but human form) and both the dogs) went over to Andrew's house for Christmas dinner. Andrew is V + L's old roommate. Andrew has this ENORMOUS house and was renting what I call "the west wing" to V+L before they got Atlas and had baby V. He's super nice. L had spent all day cooking lamb and roasting veggies and making homemade bread for the evening and Andrew made acorn squash cups (apples, walnuts, orange zest and brown sugar) inside. I thought it was hilarious that the men were the chefs. My sister openly admits to not being able to cook squat. We watched Narnia I and hung out for awhile before heading back to V+L's tiny house....
speaking of tiny house. my sister lives in a house but i swear it was built for midgets. my brother-in-law, L, is at least 6'3". the house is no problem for V and the baby who are about the same size. HAHAHAHA just kidding. my sister is maybe 5'. when you walk in from the front door or the garage, the kitchen is TINY and the dining room is nonexistent. the living room is half the size of the 2-car garage. Upstairs there are 3 rooms and 2 bathrooms. one is the master which is fairly large (both room and bathroom), then the 2 rooms (one a nursery which never gets used and the other is a guest room) on the other end of the house are the size of a closet. V+L don't have a mattress other than their own, so I slept on an air mattress in the nursery. Adam, my brother-in-law's brother, lived on the couch the entire time. The dude is seriously the laziest person I've ever met. We'd go out for runs or movies or shopping or walking and he'd be on the couch. He'd still be there when we got back. In fact, I had to ask V+L if he'd taken a shower on Saturday because I hadn't seen him move. He took one Saturday night. He got there Wednesday! Gross.
Friday we were supposed to take Atlas to herding class but it had rained the night before and the fields were flooded, so V+L and I ended up taking the dogs and the baby to another of the million dog parks in Gilbert. This particular one was seriously huge. Some dude and his little daughter brought some bulldog looking dog to the dog park and it tried to hump Cargo. My sister went up to the dude and started yelling at him. I understood why she did it, but I don't see very many serious dog owners like that in Atlanta - yelling at owners to be better ones and not let their dogs hump things/other dogs. Then again, I don't hang out in dog parks. My sister said she's gotten into it and had other people yell at her at the dog parks. Drama everywhere. 
V and I went to see The Curious Case of Benjamin Button that night. I'd said to L that if he let me have V for the evening, I'd babysit baby V (btw I've since given up on calling her that and call her by the name I hate. go with the flow...) the next night while they went to see Marley and Me. Deal. 
The movie was LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG but good. I didn't know it was an adaptation of an F. Scott Fitzgerald story. Love him. Cate Blanchett looked AMAZING. We got home after midnight (I think). I don't know. The movie is three hours long and at that point my body had gotten used to AZ time. bleeeeeeeeeh. 
We were supposed to go to Sedona on Saturday but baby V kept up V+L the entire night and still hadn't gone to sleep by the time I got up at 9. I was bummed about it but decided to get in the car and explore Gilbert. I ended up at SanTan Village which is like an Atlantic Station or a Reston Town Center but 100x bigger. Walked around. Shopped. Purchased from Forever 21! (mama C's favorite store!) I felt like the old lady in the junior's department. Eh, I don't care.
When I got back L and Adam were gone. They'd left to help one of L's coworker's move a couch into her loft. As thanks, she offered to cook them dinner. L told her I was in town as well and she said she didn't mind. I wasn't going to go. I felt bad, but I was also hungry. I'm so glad I went. His coworker is Dominican. She's also a NYC style Dominican - which means she's got a thick accent that makes her speak fast in any language and she's also super outgoing. She and her friend who was also over invited Adam out with them to Scottsdale. I told him he should go. Shit, I would have gone had I not promised V+L a date night. 
So speaking of... I was scared going into Saturday evening. I forgot to mention that on Friday we all went to REI (V+L's favorite store in the world. They could seriously spend the entire day there and not notice the time go buy). Five minutes after we walked in baby V started to cry. I rocked her in the stroller - nothing. I carried her - nothing. Cry, cry, cry. I eventually gave her to L to change her diaper and V to feed her and she was good for the next hour (I can't believe we were in that fucking store so long), but then she started wailing. V + L were so enthralled by REI that i offered to take her outside and play with her. Well V didn't have her cell phone on her and I didn't have L's number so when she started wailing for what seemed like hours in the car, I called my mom half crying/hyper-ventilating myself to tell her to get Luke out to the car. They both came and we left. 3 hours later. Hated them that day. 
So obviously when Saturday night arrived I was not looking forward to it. I was hoping we'd tire her out by the time 10:10 rolled around (their movie time) so that she'd be asleep while they were away. She was good and slept for the most part, but I couldn't lay her down. They'd warned me that if I lay her down and she started squirming it would be a couple of minutes before she started to wail. So because she squirmed each time I set her down, I basically had her on my shoulder for 2+ hours. I managed to set her down 15 minutes before they got back. 
Sunday I got up and did some laundry. Baby V had vomitted over pretty much everything I wore. She has a bad case of reflux so she vomits almost everything she eats. Poor baby.
When I went down for breakfast, L mentioned Adam would be taking me to the airport. I thought he was kidding so I laughed. I went upstairs to mention it to V and she said he was serious. GUH. most awkward drive ever. 
and now here I am. back in Atlanta and still on AZ time. 





Friday, December 26, 2008

my niece hates me.

okay, i don't know that for sure, but given the way she wails when she's with me, its possible.
i've been in phoenix since christmas eve. actually, if you want to get technical, i've been in phoenix since christmas (it was midnight my time when i got here, so to me it was already christmas). 
my sister doesn't live far from the airport and she also lives amongst every store you could possibly imagine. it's like she lives in an outdoor mall. 
we went running yesterday and she smoked me. the woman had a baby maybe 9 weeks ago. she's still got baby weight and she outran me. i told my mom this and she laughed. not funny.
anyway, my sister and her husband, my niece and i ventured out to REI today (their favorite store). my niece was quiet for a couple of minutes but then my brother-in-law had to take her to the bathroom to get changed. every time i'd take the stroller, she'd start crying again. they were so enthralled with REI, that i had to take her outside because she was crying so bad. 
i've learned that humming, singing, the washing machine and shhhhhhhhh-ing her all work. my sister says its because its white noise. anyway, i do that and she stops for a little bit, but she starts crying just when you think she's okay. i guess that is what babies do.
she's really cute though. she can say "hello". i'm not kidding. its so funny. 

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

since i have nothing to say...

Questions you just can't answer
Why doesn't Tarzan have a beard?
Why do we press harder on a remote control when we know the batteries are flat?
Why do banks charge a fee on 'insufficient funds' when they know there is not enough?
Why do Kamikaze pilots wear helmets?
Why does someone believe you when you say there are four billion stars, but check when you say the paint is wet?
What is the speed of darkness?
Why is it that people say they 'slept like a baby' when babies wake up every two hours?
If the temperature is zero outside today and it's going to be twice as cold tomorrow, how cold will it be?
Do married people live longer than single ones or does it only seem longer?
How is it that we put man on the moon before we figured out it would be a good idea to put wheels on luggage?
Why do people pay to go up tall buildings and then put money in binoculars to look at things on the ground?
Did you ever stop and wonder......
Who was the first person to look at a cow and say, 'I think I'll squeeze These pink dangly things here, and drink whatever comes out?'
Who was the first person to say, 'See that chicken there... I'm gonna eat the next thing that comes outta it's bum.'
Why do toasters always have a setting so high that could burn the toast to a horrible crisp, which no decent human being would eat?
Why is there a light in the fridge and not in the freezer?
Why do people point to their wrist when asking for the time, but don't point to their bum when they ask where the bathroom is?
Why does your Obstetrician, Gynaecologist leave the room when you get undressed if they are going to look up there anyway?
Why does Goofy stand erect while Pluto remains on all fours? They're both dogs!
If quizzes are quizzical, what are tests?
If corn oil is made from corn, and vegetable oil is made from vegetables, then what is baby oil made from?
If electricity comes from electrons, does morality come from morons?
Why do the Alphabet song and Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star have the same tune?
Stop singing and read on.......
Do illiterate people get the full effect of Alphabet Soup?
Did you ever notice that when you blow in a dog's face, he gets mad at you, but when you take him on a car ride, he sticks his head out the window?
Does pushing the elevator button more than once make it arrive faster?
Do you ever wonder why you gave me your e-mail address in the first place?

Monday, December 22, 2008

busy

i can't say that i've been especially busy and can't blog. i think its more that i don't really have much to say. i know that is a lame excuse but who really wants to read about how much i miss tony or worry about steven one more time? see. told ya.

i have had some really good sundays and i promised my friends i'd blog about them. so here we go.

two sundays ago i had christmas dinner with my friends Sasha + L. i met both when i worked at my last agency. Sasha and I have been doing monthly dinners for a couple of months and decided we'd do a potluck in December instead of a fancy dinner out. i brought the honeybaked ham and au gratin potatoes, Sasha made deviled eggs and roasted asparagus and L made a flourless chocolate cake with raspberry sauce (don't i have amazing friends? they cook around my diet!). everything was FABULOUS. seriously. i threatened to wear my sweatpants. i didn't, but i probably should have. i could have eaten all day. seriously. all day.

so i want to blog some more about these potatoes because while they were delicious they've continued to haunt me. so i pulled the recipe for them from The Week. I was originally going to do mashed potatoes. When I saw the recipe in The Week, I had to make it. It was some chef's special dish and since it didn't look too complicated (just the ingredients were fancy. manchego cheese and some other sort of fancy only-available-in-whole-foods cheese), I decided to test it out. Well this recipe called for three heads-worth of garlic cloves. yeah, three heads! seemed like a lot to me. I even had to Google what a head of garlic was to make sure I wasn't doing too much, but sure enough, it was really that much garlic. The recipe called for homemade garlic cream, so i had to roast these bitches, peel them, and then mash them into a mush. Then mix it into the heavy cream. Needless to say all that garlic plus the stinky cheeses made for a very powerful smelling dish. I am still smelling garlic now and I must say...garlic smell makes me want to vomit. I can still smell it and its 2 weeks later! i have had to wash my dishes 5 times. they are still soaking actually. i've had to clean them and then soak. and then clean them and soak. its bad. i smell garlic everywhere. its as bad as that time my landlord threw mothballs into the roof to ward off the squirrels. I am not sure where she got the idea that mothball smell deterred squirrels, but it sure as hell began convincing me I shouldn't live here. The stench was awful. The garlic smell is a close second. So gross.

this past sunday i felt like the last person on earth and called mama C and papa to see what they were doing. i guess it didn't really matter what they were doing, i was going to attach myself to them anyway. on the agenda? some Wii tennis, flausting (remember this is me and Yones' word for doing nothing), going to see the First Emperor of China's Terracotta Army at the High Museum and then watching the Falcons make it to the playoffs at D's. Busy day. 

mama C's parents were in town visiting the past few weeks and i must say they are WONDERFUL. seriously. when you think of the most awesome parents on the face of the earth - you basically have mama C's parents. i mean don't get me wrong, i love my parents. well. i love my mom and i wouldn't trade her for anything. she is the best mom ever. my dad. eh. you guys know how i feel about my dad. anyway, her parents are simply awesome. they are funny and lively and go with the flow. you can't really say that about parents. anyway, you get the gist. they are AWESOME.

so flausting with them is no big deal. actually flausting while they are up and about sewing and installing doors is no big deal. they are busy bees those too. me? i sat on the couch. i guess i could have done the same in my own house, but i like company when i flaust. well! flausting gets lonely. so then i somehow managed to peel myself off the couch and drive us over to the High Museum. You know, I enjoyed viewing the exhibit. It was very educational, but I am not a fan of the High Museum generally. I have said this many times. I'm museum spoiled. A museum brat. When I lived in Virginia I could see, sit, flaust amongst the most amazing works of art, gemstones, fossils, blah blah...FOR FREE. The High Museum can't come close to that. But it was fun to exhibit and people watch. There was one dude so fed up with the crowds (and we were at the start of the exhibit) that you'd think he'd "caught" Turret's Syndrome while he was standing there. He'd be quiet for a few seconds and then someone would walk past him or nudge him a little while passing him and he'd go crazy. Asshole. It's a museum. In Atlanta. On the Sunday before Christmas. What the hell do you expect? It's not going to be empty.

Afterwards, we all headed down to D's. D is a character. This dude is a DUDE. a real man's man. before I'd even met him I knew him as the meat eater. His eating habits are legend. This dude eats MEAT. I forget when he acquired his deep fryer, but since then I've been to his house for fried duck, turkey, turducken, cornish hen, veggies, twinkies, etc at least 4 times. It's awesome. Everyone needs a friend with a fryer. The purpose of the get together wasn't only to partake of fried foods, but also to watch the pivotal Vikings/Falcons game and the Falcons came out on top. We're headed to the playoffs. Good for us. We need something to good to come out of Atlanta football. 

So that was my Sunday. You're jealous aren't you? My friends really are amazing.

Not sure I'll be blogging while I'm in Arizona. So for my fans...all three of you....

Merry Christmas! Happy New Year! 
Love you
xoxo
Lola



Wednesday, December 17, 2008

The Year in Review - 2008 Edition

Where did you begin 2008?
I don't remember. Was I in Atlanta? In Virginia? No clue.

What was your status by Valentines​Day?
I was single and Puerto Rico with Nancy.

Were you in school anytime this year?
No.

Did you have to go to the hospital?
Yes. I had a stone at the entrance to my liver removed.

Did you have any encounters with the police?
Nope.

Where​ did you go on vacation?
Puerto Rico

What did you purchase that was over $100?
From the look of my bank statement, I don't purchase anything under $100.

Did you know anybody who got married?
L+J

Did you know anybody who passed away?
Not directly.

Did you move anywhere?
Nope.

What sporting events did you attend?
Basketball game with mama C

What concerts/shows did you go to?
a few.

Describe your birthday:
huge fight with Tony at midnight. high tea at the Ritz Carlton during the day. dinner at La Tavola.

What is the one thing you thought you would not do, but did, in 2008?
prefer not to say.

What has been your favorite moment?
prefer not to say.

Any new additions to your family? baby V in October!

What was your best month?
February probably.

Other than home, where did you spend most of your time?
Virginia

How old did you turn this year?​
30

Do anything embarrassing?
Of course I did.

Buy anyth​ing new from eBay?
I don't like to buy shit online.

Get married or divorced?
No.

Get arrested?
No

Did you get sick this year?
Yes

Are you happy to see 2008 go?
Yes

Been naughty or nice? who gives a shit.

J is the BOMB!

Dispelling Georgia Tech's Engineer Myth
Paula Wilson, Georgia Tech's admissions director, talks about why the school isn't just for engineers and other reasons to consider the school
The Georgia Tech College of Management may be a techie's paradise, with around 55% of students coming from an engineering background. But while the school could fill its entire 74-person first-year class with engineers, it simply chooses not to, according to Director of MBA Admissions Paula Wilson.
That doesn't mean the school, which climbed into the top 30 in BusinessWeek's 2008 rankings of full-time MBA programs, doesn't place a premium on quantitative ability, says Wilson. "We try to teach students how to think like engineers, teaching them how to pay attention to detail and how to be problem solvers," she says.
Wilson recently spoke with BusinessWeek's Alysa Teichman about the school's attitudes and shared a few points of wisdom to prospective students. Edited excerpts of the discussion follow.

Are you seeing more applications than in the recent past?It's really a little too early for us to tell. Our first application deadline is not until Jan. 15. We're pretty flat over where we were at this time last year. That deadline is our biggest deadline because it's for international applications, too. Usually 50% to 60% of applications to the full-time program come in at that Jan. 15 deadline.

What's the most unusual or difficult essay question on your application, and what's your advice to students on how to tackle it?The most unusual one that people really like is, "If you could invite any four people living or dead to a dinner party, who would you invite, and what would you discuss?" Of course we get answers like Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, Michael Dell, and Steve Jobs, but I've had some really interesting essays from people who have invited themselves at different points in life. I've also had people invite engineering failures, like the guys who designed the Tacoma, Wash., bridge. This essay gives applicants an opportunity to be creative in the admissions process, and of course makes the application a little more fun for us to read.
I don't know that we help them deal with it. Usually the other thing is if someone is asking me for my advice, I always like to stress that there's no right or wrong answer, and it's a time when they can be creative. As with any of the essays, they shouldn't say what they think we want them to say, but give us a true picture of themselves.

What do students tell you is the hardest part of the admissions process at your school, and how do you advise they deal with it?I'm not sure if it's the hardest, but it's the part they're most impressed with. Interviews are by invitation only; students can't be admitted without interviews. They [also] interview with Jim Kranzusch, the director of career services. I think it's sometimes a little bit of a surprise that they're going to be meeting with both of us; then I think once they get here, they enjoy the opportunity.

Are there any benefits to being in an earlier round?We actually admit on a rolling basis, and so even though we have three deadlines, we will go ahead and review an application as soon as it's complete. So we'll probably admit a few people, not many, before the holidays. We don't get many applications before, but the committee tends to be fairly conservative before Christmas; we're not sure what's going to be coming before that January deadline. We're not going to be making many offers for admissions or funding this early in the game. Our applications are not really in rounds because we will review them as they're completed, but we're not waiting until all those applications come in to make the decisions about a round. If last year is any indication, I think certainly it is going to be to an applicant's advantage to apply in earlier rounds and certainly not to wait until that last May 1 deadline.

What do you look for in the application essays?You know, I think that we're looking for essays that are well written, but obviously not too well written or we get a little suspicious. I think we're looking for the same things that all MBA admissions offices are looking for. We want applicants to be themselves, to write a true representation of themselves, and to answer the question. I know that students are applying to a lot of schools, and it's very tempting to make one essay fit into every school's essay. So we're looking for essays that are compelling, that give us a true sense of who the student is.

How important is the applicant's quantitative GMAT score?It is actually pretty important for us. Our program does tend to be a little more quantitative than many MBA programs, and we hear this from our students. We've done validity studies through GMAC, and the quantitative part of the GMAT is the best indicator of academic success in the MBA core. That is a pretty important factor for us. If a student doesn't have a good score or a score that concerns us, we're going to go to that transcript and make sure it shows us they can handle the academics here.

How important is the applicant's quantitative GMAT score?It is actually pretty important for us. Our program does tend to be a little more quantitative than many MBA programs, and we hear this from our students. We've done validity studies through GMAC, and the quantitative part of the GMAT is the best indicator of academic success in the MBA core. That is a pretty important factor for us. If a student doesn't have a good score or a score that concerns us, we're going to go to that transcript and make sure it shows us they can handle the academics here.

What are good reasons for wanting to get an MBA at Georgia Tech?I think the one thing we really look for is people who know why they want to get an MBA and how it's going to help them in their careers. For us, 75% come from nonbusiness undergraduate degrees. Probably 15% come from an engineering or computer science background. What I hear so much from applicants is, "I want to be at a level in a company where I can see the company as a whole and make strategic business decisions."

What's the typical amount of work experience you're looking for in an applicant? How do you regard applicants with less experience than that?We have a dual degree program with any other graduate program at Tech. Typically, these students will have gone from undergraduate directly to it, so typically they will have strong internship or co-op experience but not that traditional two to five years of work experience.
There are some who are very mature and have excellent experience and excel, but in class discussion and with corporate recruiters, we're really seeing that two to five years of work experience really helps. These last couple of years, we've really seen that it's not to the students' benefit, to our benefit in career services, or to the benefit of other students for someone to come in without work experience. You get more out of the program and contribute more to the program if you have work experience.

What do you want to see in applicants' recommendation letters?We want professional and academic references and no personal references at all, but someone who knows you well. We always say you don't want to get the president of your company if that was someone you met at a company picnic and they really don't know you. You also want to stay away from personal references who tell us what a nice family you have and what a nice boy you are.

What sort of mistakes do people tend to make in interviews?The key mistake that we see is people who really don't take it as seriously as they should. I think that I would say the vast majority of people do treat it like a job interview, and they come dressed appropriately with a résumé and questions prepared, but I think the people with the worst interviews regardless of the strength of their applications are the ones who really don't take it seriously. People who come in with a sense of entitlement, expecting they will be admitted and that this is a formality, are the ones who many times can't be saved by a strong GMAT score.

What financial aid opportunities are available to students?Graduate assistantships are the primary form, which a third of students get. They're fully merit-based. Having high test scores and high grades are important but not everything. We do look at work experience and interviews, so the application is considered as a whole when we're making those funding decisions. These do come with a full-tuition waiver, so that comes to about $600 a semester. These students work for a professor and earn a stipend for their work, so that's about $3,000. In addition, there are also fellowships available.

What do you do to attract women and underrepresented minorities?Of course that's always a challenge, and being at a school that has an engineering background, I think attracting women is one of the most difficult things. To be honest, I don't think we've done anything specifically targeted to women. Once we have women who are interested, we try to put them in touch with other women in the program. We do participate in the Forté Foundation; we're not a member school, but we are involved.
In terms of minorities, we have an interesting program called Focus. It takes place over the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend, and we invite top students from underrepresented minority groups who are juniors and seniors in college. It started out in the College of Engineering to attract minorities to engineering, and expanded to us 10 years ago.

Do you have any special initiatives or procedures for international applicants?About 19% of the incoming class is international. International students must apply to the Jan. 15 deadline because it takes longer to process their applications. They are given the same consideration for financial aid as U.S. students. Nothing else is different in terms of the application process. The things we're looking for with internationals are really just magnified. We're just looking for a good career fit, and people we can help achieve career goals. The H-1B visa issue has really become a big problem for students over the last several years. We really are very selective when it comes to international students because we want to help them achieve their goals once they are here.

Can you take me through the life cycle of an application at Georgia Tech?It's pretty easy to self-manage the application since it's all online. So when applicants hit the submit button, the recommenders are e-mailed a form to fill out. The only thing students physically turn in is GMAT scores. I do a preliminary review, and we may even go ahead and start scheduling some interviews based on that. Once the interviews are completed and we have transcripts in, then we meet as an admissions committee and make the decision.

What are some common mistakes that candidates make in their applications?I think again, while I wouldn't say this is common, I do see it occasionally. With the essays, applicants sometimes try to fit one essay into multiple schools' essay questions. Another big one is not answering the question or not doing spell-check. I don't think it's a big issue, but there are times when they say, "I'm looking forward to the Emory MBA program," and I say, "Well I hope you get into the Emory MBA program." Sometimes we also get weak choices in recommendations.

What kind of person would be a good fit at Georgia Tech?I would say that Georgia Tech students, whether they are undergrads or MBAs, have the reputation of being very hardworking problem solvers. They typically don't have that stereotypical MBA attitude, and they're willing to get in and get their hands dirty even if they're not engineers. We try to teach students how to think like engineers, teaching them how to pay attention to detail and how to be problem solvers. The type of person we're looking for is willing to come here and do the work and get involved and to be in that MBA career development office on a regular basis.

What percentage of the student body comes from an engineering background?Fifty-five percent come from an engineering or computer science background, 30% are liberal arts students, and the rest come from undergraduate business degrees. I think engineers are very attracted to Georgia Tech. Our niche areas are operations management, information technology, management, entrepreneurship in technology commercialization, and computer science.

Can you describe someone you admitted recently who is a surprising fit, someone who didn't fit the "profile?"We had a young lady, she was a public school teacher who was teaching middle school math. One reason she chose Georgia Tech is because she wanted to shore up those quantitative skills and have that credential to be technical and quantitative in nature, and she was really interested in organizational behavior and marketing.
During her first semester, she went to a networking event, went up to a gentleman with a Chick-fil-A tie, and he gave her a coupon that said "Have a free Chick-fil-A sandwich on Bob." It didn't have his contact information or title, but she held on to it and contacted him later. It turns out he was the chief operating officer, and he got her an internship with them. She graduated to get a job there. She's someone who kind of came in with a little bit of a different background and was very successful at Georgia Tech.

Are there any stereotypes about Georgia Tech that you'd like to disprove?A lot of people get the impression that you have to be an engineer to be part of the program. We could enroll a whole class of engineers, but they wouldn't learn anything from each other. In our second-year class, we had three people with fine arts degrees. People are intimidated by the strong quantitative skill and math they'll have to do when they get here. The program is small, and one word that really describes our MBA program is the students are very collaborative; they really enjoy working together. I know of students who will take hours out of their schooling to help a student struggling in a class or with an intern. The myth that we want to dispel is that we're just for engineers, and that's just not true.

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

MBA

I've decided to go back to school. Not full-time, but I am looking to obtain my MBA.
I'm looking at three different executive MBA programs in Atlanta. An executive MBA is no different from an MBA (just as expensive, if not more); the difference is in the route you take to get one. Executive MBAs are obtained over a shortened period of time (usually 1.5 years) and classes are at nights on Fridays and all day Saturday. I have been researching programs and I really like Georgia Tech's Global Executive MBA program which is all the things I mentioned plus some study abroad (1 or 2 weeks in Asia and then 1 or 2 weeks in Latin America).

the first step is to take the GMAT. this scares me because i've never been good at standardized tests. i'm not worried about the qualitative, but the quantitative. :( i am planning on taking the test in March. I will be studying and attending open houses at Emory, GT and GSU until then. Early admissions for all three of these school is in April and the final deadlines are in June.

It is truly a new year for me coming up.
wish me luck.
:)

Monday, December 15, 2008

this made me laugh.

To Maintain A Healthy Level Of Insanity
1.
At Lunch Time, Sit In Your Parked Car With Sunglasses on and point a Hair Dryer At Passing Cars. See If They Slow Down.
2.
Page Yourself Over The Intercom. Don't Disguise Your Voice!
3.
Every Time Someone Asks You To Do Something, ask If They Want Fries with that.
4. Put Decaf In The Coffee Maker For 3 Weeks . Once Everyone has Gotten Over Their Caffeine Addictions, Switch to Espresso.
5.
In the Memo Field Of All Your Checks, Write ' For Marijuana.
6.
Skip down the hall Rather Than Walk and see how many looks you get.
7.
Order a Diet Water whenever you go out to eat, with a serious face.
8.
Specify That Your Drive-through Order Is 'To Go'.
9.
Sing Along At The Opera.
10. Five Days In Advance, Tell Your Friends You Can't Attend Their Party Because You have a headache.
11.
When The Money Comes Out The ATM, Scream 'I Won! I Won!'
12.
When Leaving the Zoo, Start Running towards the Parking lot, Yelling 'Run For Your Lives! They're Loose!'
13. Tell Your Children Over Dinner, 'Due To The Economy, We Are Going To Have To Let One Of You Go.'

And The Final Way To Keep A Healthy Level Of Insanity


14.
PICK UP A BOX OF CONDOMS AT THE PHARMACY, GO TO THE COUNTER AND ASK WERE THE FITTING ROOM IS.

Send This E-mail To Someone To Make Them Smile.
It's Called... THERAPY

knowing me, knowing you

i was just chatting with papa R and i said something so concisely that i figured i should blog about it now since i haven't been able to find the words in the past.

i have been missing tony for a long time. he and i stopped talking in august.
it's been hard on me, but i think it was for the best. he and i were never going to be what i wanted us to be and he was fine with taking advantage of my soft spot for him. hmm.... that sounds familiar. but it has been extremely hard on me. between february and august our friendship surpassed anything physical i had with him. he became one of my best friends, so when he decided to cut me out, i was, for the most part, heartbroken.

whether its jocelyn or tony or steven or cathy or whoever. when a friendship ends, it hurts bad.
which is usually why i can't ever let them go.
i still think about jocelyn. and tony. and steven. and yes, even cathy.
you spend so much time with someone and then one day you're just supposed to assume they've disappeared off the face of the earth? i don't understand how people do this. and yes, some of the people i've listed have hurt me. actually most of them hurt me. a lot. but i still remember them. think about them. have a burning need to know how they are.

i know i am worse than most people though because i actually reach out when i shouldn't.
i get myself all worked up over people that i have to reach out. i somehow rationalize that if i reach out, i can let out of a sigh of relief. panic attack over. but it never happens. i am just wound up that much more tightly. waiting for them to respond.

i wrote tony today. even though i know i shouldn't have. i don't expect him to write back or call back. he and i ended months ago. it is just the way he is. there is some sense of relief for me. i have been bottling up my feelings for so long. i've been wanting to "reach out and touch someone" for ages. and now that i have. i feel a bit better. but it didn't stop me from crying. it doesn't stop me now.

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

happy birthday to you!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MAMA C!

over thanksgiving, my girlfriends and i were watching Oprah's Favorite Things episode. Oprah didn't do a whole big gift-giving extravaganza this year because of the economy - which is strange to me since this would be the time to do the traditional show and give "worthy" people those gifts...anyway... this year's Favorite Things episode was all about having a thrifty holiday. One of the ideas was a gratitude box - a box filled with heartfelt notes from loved ones because, as Oprah says, "The words from your heart mean more to people than anything you can buy."

when i was telling J my birthday gift idea for mama C, she replied "you trying to go oprah style on her in the digital age?" HAHAHAHA actually, yes. So Mama C, I hope you like your present - a shiny new blog entry just for you. no one else.

a week ago, J's husband sent out one of those emails that makes you roll your eyes when you open it. i mean...not me.... i love them... but if you fill them out during the work day they make people think you aren't doing anything at work...but i digress... since they always reveal something interesting, I'll fill one out for mama C.

Where did we meet? gosh there is a good story that goes with this. mama C and i were both friends with this wretched girl named Cathy 4+ years ago. We've come to our senses since. anyway, one night, Cathy invited me out to a girls night at Harry & Sons. mama C was a guest. she'd recently moved to the U.S. from merry old England (btw - why do people say this?). i remember thinking she was really quiet. i even remember what she was wearing. a jean skirt and this off-the-shoulder reddish t-shirt. it might have even had her astrological sign on it. something like that....

Take a stab at my middle name? Okay, I'll admit that when I started this on Tuesday I had no idea. It is now Wednesday and I am editing this and I cheated and asked papa R. If it helps, I thought I knew it was Louise, so really, when papa R said "Louise" it was confirmation.

Do I speak a second language? Yes. The Queen's English. HA! She also speaks German and a little bit of French and she can say "Hola Lola" better than any Brit I know (I only know one).

Am I a cat lover or dog lover? I don't think you LOVE either, but I think you'd probably handle a dog better than a cat.

Color of my eyes? Blue

Do I have any siblings? Yes. An older brother and a younger sister.

What's one of my favorite things to do? Hang out with me, make jewelry, go camping, relax, make christmas cards, drink wine, go to concerts...oh wait, you only asked for one...

What's my favorite type of music? I've only heard stories of mama C's cheesy musical tastes before she came to the USA. However, since she's been here she's only shared her husbands and my refined musical taste.

Am I taller than you? Yes, but that really isn't hard to do considering I might be a midget.

Am I shy or outgoing? Mama C is the most unshy person I know.

Am I a rebel or do I follow the rules? You mostly follow the rules, but you can break a few too.

What is my birth month? December. December 11 to be exact. TODAY IS YOUR BIRTHDAY!

Have you ever heard me sing? Yes and I'm sorry to inform you - You are not very good.

How many children do I have? None yet. Just me.

Have we taken photographs together? Many. Some very embarrassing.

When is the last time you saw me? As of today (Tuesday, I started your gift early!) - Saturday during the card making extravaganza!

When will I see you again? Tonight at Imperial Fez

Have we ever had a falling out? Well. We didn't talk for a couple of months. Falling out of touch is more accurate.

If you and I were stranded on a desert island, what is one
thing that I would bring? papa R

Am I right handed or left handed? Right handed. I think.

What type of work do I do? you are HR and an EA at Spanx

So anyway, back to Oprah's "The words from your heart mean more to people than anything you can buy" thing. Oprah suggests starting out with "What I love about you..." and "Thank you for..." so here we go!

Mama C...
What I love about you is your strength. Both mental and physical. You're two years younger than me, but you've always been so much stronger. I really admire that. I can't tell you how many times I've thought "what would she do?"

Thank you for being supportive of me. When I win and when I fail. Recently, I thought I was confessing something to you and you said "I knew that already". You are seriously the older sibling I never had. Sometimes you yell at me (because I need it) and other times you let things go, but I always know you care.

What I love about you is your positive attitude. You know me, I'm a crier. I cry at stupid commercials. I can count the number of times you have cried in front of me on one hand. Really, just a couple of fingers. Okay maybe one finger. My point is, in spite of all the things you could let get to you, you persevere. You smile.

Thank you for feeding me. I have always felt welcome in Mama C & Papa R's home. I mean...I have a key. Mi casa es su casa. People dream of having friends like Mama C and Papa R. Lucky me, I actually have them.

What I love about you is your honesty. You tell it like it is and I respect that.

Thank you for being a part of my Atlanta family.

I love you, Mama C! Happy Birthday!
xoxo
Lola

on being gluten free - summary

so you all know i have been battling with digestive problems since before moving to Atlanta. I've had my gallbladder removed, a stone at the entrance to my liver removed...and I still have issues. Now I don't know what child birth feels like, but these digestive issues, especially the ones having to do with stones - they are no walk in the park. i can't tell you how many times my loved ones have found me doubled over in pain on the floor of my bathroom.

my friend L has been gluten-free for awhile. she's always said very positive things about it. I never had the restraint to eat gluten-free. i just loved breads so much. and pasta! and cakes and cookies! mmmmmmmmm

i have been gluten free for a week now and i feel so much better. i feel less weighed down. more energetic. just happier in general. i can't believe i waited this long to feel this way. L has been telling me how great gluten-free can be and i never listened. Sorry, L.

gluten free is not easy. i am hungry a lot and since i'm new to this, i'm eating a lot of meat, salads, beans and veggies. eventually i'll learn to cook gluten free. i do miss the convenience of sandwiches and pizza but i'll one day learn not to miss those. comfort food like mac and cheese or a burger and fries.

BUT this feeling is amazing. i am so glad to be gluten free! WEEEEEEEEEEEEE

on being gluten free (continued)

basic guidelines for what i can and cannot eat:

A gluten-free diet means avoiding foods that contain wheat (including spelt, triticale, and kamut), rye, barley, and possibly oats or, in other words, most grain, pasta, cereal, and many processed foods. Despite these restrictions, people with celiac disease can eat a varied, well-balanced diet, including bread and pasta. Instead of wheat flour, for example, people can use potato, rice, soy, or bean flour. Gluten-free bread, pasta and other products are available from specialty food companies.

Some celiacs are able to eat oats without having a reaction but others are not. Plain meat, fish, rice, fruits, and vegetables do not contain gluten, so people with celiac disease can eat as much of these foods as they like. Examples of foods that are safe to eat and those that are not are provided below.

EXAMPLES OF A GLUTEN-FREE DIET
The following list shows examples of many foods that are allowed or avoided, but it is not a complete list. It is important to read all food ingredient lists carefully to make sure that the food does not contain gluten.

Beverages
Allowed: Coffee, tea, carbonated drinks, wine made in U.S., rum, some root beer.
Avoid: Ovaltine, malted milk, ale, beer, gin, whiskey, flavored coffee, herbal tea with malted barley. Lola's Note: I gave up soda (all carbonated drinks) before I gave up gluten. i fell off the carbonation wagon yesterday when i had a diet coke. i worked out extra hard because of it. not doing that again.... i hate working out. i drink mostly water or unsweetened tea with sweet & lo.

Milk
Allowed: Fresh, dry, evaporated, or condensed milk; cream; sour cream; whipping cream; yogurt.
Avoid: Malted milk, some commercial chocolate milk, some nondairy creamers.

Meat, Fish, Poultry
Allowed: Fresh meats, fish, other seafood, and poultry; fish in canned oil, brine, or water; some hot dogs and lunch meats.
Avoid: Prepared meat containing wheat, rye, oats, or barley; tuna canned in vegetable broth.

Cheese
Allowed: All aged cheese, such as cheddar, Swiss, edam, parmesan; cottage cheese; cream cheese; pasteurized processed cheese; cheese spreads.
Avoid: Any cheese product containing oat gum, some veined cheeses (bleu, stilton, roquefort, gorgonzola).

Potato or Other Starch
Allowed: White and sweet potatoes, yams, hominy, rice, wild rice, gluten-free noodles, some oriental rice and bean thread noodles.
Avoid: Regular noodles, spaghetti, macaroni, most packaged rice mixes, seminola, spinach noodles, frozen potato products with wheat flour added.

Cereals
Allowed: Hot cereals made from cornmeal or other corn-based cereal, Cream of Rice, hominy, rice; Puffed Rice, cereals made without malt.
Avoid: All cereals containing wheat, rye, oats, or barley; bran; graham; wheat germ; durum; kaska; bulgar; buckwheat*; millet*; triticale; amaranth*; spelt; teff; quinoa*; kamut.

Breads
Allowed: Specially prepared breads using only allowed flours.
Avoid: All breads containing wheat, rye, oat, or barley flours and grains listed above. Lola's Note: Okay, this is like eating "faux"/soy turkey, chicken, beef when you are a vegetarian. Bread is bread. Bread = Gluten. Just don't eat it. Easy. I don't do "allowed flours". I just don't eat bread.

Flours and Thickening Agents
Allowed: Arrowroot starch, corn bran, corn flour, corn germ, cornmeal, corn starch, potato flour, potato starch flour, rice bran, rice flour, rice polish, rice starch, soy flour, tapioca starch, bean and lentil flours, nut flours.
Avoid: Amaranth*, wheat germ, bran, wheat starch; all flours containing wheat, rye, oats, or barley; buckwheat*; spelt; quinoa*; teff; kamut; millet*.

Vegetables
Allowed: All plain, fresh, frozen, or canned vegetables; dried peas and beans; lentils; some commercially prepared vegetables.
Avoid: Creamed vegetables, vegetables canned in sauce, some canned baked beans, commercially prepared vegetables and salads.

Fruits
Allowed: All fresh, frozen, canned, or dried fruits; all fruit juices; some canned pie fillings.
Avoid: Thickened or prepared fruits; some pie fillings; raisins and dried dates that have been dusted with flour.

Fats
Allowed: Butter, margarine, vegetable oil, nuts, peanut butter, hydrogenated vegetable oils, some salad dressings, mayonnaise, nonstick cooking sprays.
Avoid: Some commercial salad dressings, wheat germ oil, nondairy cream substitutes, most commercial gravies and sauces.

Soups
Allowed: Homemade broth and soups made with allowed ingredients, some commercially canned soups, specialty dry soup mixes.
Avoid: Most canned soups and soup mixes, bouillon and bouillon cubes with hydrolyzed vegetable protein.

Desserts
Allowed: Cakes (NO), quick breads (NO), pastries (NO), and puddings made with allowed ingredients; cornstarch, tapioca, and rice puddings; some pudding mixes; custard; ice cream with few, simple ingredients; sorbet; meringues; mousse; sherbets; frozen yogurt.
Avoid: Commercial cakes, cookies; pies made with wheat, rye, oats, or barley; millet*, amaranth*, buckwheat*, spelt, teff, quinoa*, kamut; prepared mixes; puddings; ice cream cones; Jell-O instant pudding; cream fillings; products made with brown rice syrup.

Sweets
Allowed: Jelly, jam, honey, brown and white sugar, molasses, most syrups, some candy, chocolate, pure cocoa, coconut, marshmallows.
Avoid: Commercial candies dusted with wheat flour, butterscotch chips; flavored syrups; sweets containing malt/malt flavorings; some brown rice syrup; some corn syrup.

Miscellaneous
Allowed: Salt, pepper, herbs, herb extracts, food coloring, cloves, allspice, ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon, chili powder, tomato puree and paste, olives, active dry yeast, bicarbonate of soda, baking powder, cream of tartar, dry mustard, some condiments, apple cider, rice or wine vinegar.
Avoid: Curry powder, dry seasonings mixes, gravy extracts, meat sauces, catsup, mustard, horseradish, chip dips, most soy sauce, some distilled white vinegar, instant dry baking yeast, some cinnamon, condiments made with wheat-derived distilled vinegars, communion wafers/bread, some alcohol-based flavoring extracts.

on being gluten free

first a lesson:

Gluten is a composite of the proteins gliadin and glutenin. These exist, conjoined with starch, in the endosperms of some grass-related grains, notably wheat, rye, and barley. Gliadin and glutenin comprise about 80% of the protein contained in wheat seed. Being insoluble in water, they can be purified by washing away the associated starch. Worldwide, gluten is an important source of nutritional protein, both in foods prepared directly from sources containing it, and as an additive to foods otherwise low in protein.

The seeds of most flowering plants have endosperms with stored protein to nourish embryonic plants during germination, but true gluten, with gliadin and glutenin, is limited to certain members of the grass family. The stored proteins of maize and rice are sometimes called glutens, but their proteins differ from wheat gluten by lacking gliadin. The glutenin in wheat flour gives kneaded dough its elasticity, allows leavening and contributes chewiness to baked products like bagels.

Although wheat supplies much of the world's dietary protein and food supply, as much as 0.5% to 1% of the population of the United States has celiac disease, a condition which results from an inappropriate immune system response to gluten.[1] The manifestations of celiac disease range from no symptoms to malabsorption of nutrients with involvement of multiple organ systems. The only effective treatment is a lifelong gluten-free diet.

Monday, December 8, 2008

Britney Spears' Circus $9.99 at Target

i'm so buying this album!

Friday, December 5, 2008

the clumsiest person in america

ME!
so last night i went to dinner and a movie with Yones. we planned on going to Chipotle up the street from his house and then see Twilight at Phipps.

yesterday (daytime) was our company photo. our company christmas (excuse me, HOLIDAY) cards will have a group picture on the cover. yay. so i had to look nice. i put on my black dress, patterned tights and the only decent pair of black shoes i have. these shoes also happen to be a good 4" (if not more) off the ground. now let me start by saying that i used to be able to run marathons in heels (not really, but you get where i'm going with this). stilettos and i weren't friends, but we had an understanding - make me look hot, and i will wear you everywhere. well, some years ago, stilettos and i had a falling out and i have been wearing flats ever since. i've complained on this blog before about losing my nice legs to flats and trying to reconcile with the stiletto, but to-date, i haven't really gone after the reconciliation with any frequency - with the exception of my only pair of black 4-inch heels. the heel itself isn't a stiletto, its actually a good solid heel (not chunky, but more the "modern" heel as some designers call it). but i digress....

so last night i picked up chuck right after work and we went to chipotle. it had rained hours before so the ground is still wet. we walk into the chipotle and there is no mat to dry the bottoms of your shoes (i only noticed this after what i'm about to tell you). so i'm walking to the chipotle counter to order my burrito bowl when my right leg slips on a patch and i stumble but i think i'll recover until my left leg gives out, too. i know how this all happens because this was seriously the slowest fall of my life. so i'm trying to regain balance on both legs, stumble forward and eventually both legs give out and i land on my left ankle first and then both my knees, my face only inches away from the chipotle counter (and you know that would have hurt).
i sit there in pain for several seconds and i can see the counter people come out from behind the counter and to my side to make sure i'm okay. and did i mention the chipotle was full? so i have all the people in the front row booths sitting up to see what happened and all the people in the back row booths stand up and come to the front. my fall was so loud. like a fucking elephant had been taken down. my knees and my left ankle all kill me, but having fallen in front of all those people, my pride hurts too. so i get up and wave to everyone. "yup, i'm okay" and proceed with acting normal and ordering my burrito. well! i was STARVING. as i'm making my way through the line people are still staring at me. so i stare back and smile. seriously? would you like me to fall again? was that not enough entertainment for you?
i'm beginning to think i can't walk in heels anymore. blah.

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

missing an asshole.

i'm fucking busy up to my eyeballs and every time my mind starts to wander it wanders to memories of Tony. i have really been missing his company lately.
...there's the stupid toyota commercial song "SAVED BY ZERO" that reminds me of him. he used to improv stupid songs for me.
....everytime i hear a fucking outkast song, i think of him. there was the time i was in orlando with the gang and he called me to ask where the hell i went and sang "i like the way you move" to me. the whole song. hysterical.
....i am thinking about buying an annual tuition at Dance101 (it's on sale), which means i'd have to pass his fucking house every day.

miss you, you asshole, but i'd rather throw myself off a building than call you.
why is it we only remember the good times and never the bad? i do that with steven too.
fuck.

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

britney style

photographic evidence of "britney style"

so my sister said something that had me cracking up hard.
this is probably funny to no one but me, but i'm going to re-tell it anyway.
so we took chase to karate friday afternoon but we were in such a rush to get him to his class and he was being such a royal pain in the ass that we forget to get him to go to the bathroom, so since the karate place is near our old house and no one lives in our old house (yet), we decided to make a pit stop.
when we get to the house, jenny and chase get out of the car and go running into the house. when they get back, chase jumps back into his carseat. i look at him and think "um, the karate place is like 2 feet away (seriously it is. i could have walked over there faster), do i need to strap him into the carseat?" i guess my sister saw my thoughts because she looks at me in the rearview and says "it's okay, we'll go britney style".

i lost my shit. i could not stop laughing for a good 5 minutes.
britney style?!
makes me laugh just thinking about it.
i was like, "what? what did you say?!" and she says that all the moms use it.
this shit has to be in the urban dictionary. hold on while i look.... OOOOH not yet! here's my chance to write an entry!

while i'm on hold for "approximately 4 minutes"...

so i called chad while i was in town.
i called him. never heard from him. i was in virginia thursday through monday morning.
when does he decide to call me? monday morning at 2:30am. seriously.
first it was an excuse ("i just got my new phone". really chad? REALLY?! because i don't think AT&T stores are open at 2:30am). then it was just incessant calling. i turned off my phone.
before i got on the plane i text him something like "don't call me. I will call you when i'm ready to talk to you"). then the incessant calling starts again at 3:30pm yesterday.
had to turn off my phone again because it went well into the night.
fucking annoying.

missed you!

today will be short bursts of blogging. sorry, you get what i'm able to give.

first - I HATE BANK OF AMERICA.

yes i realize it was my fault for being a drunken fool 3 fridays ago and "losing" my debit card. but what's done is done and once you call your card in as "lost", you can't un-lose it and reactivate it when you find it in the unsewn portion of your purse. so you wait...

first those bitches told me 3-5 business days. when it didn't arrive, i called back and then they say 5-7 business days. still doesn't come. call back and they tell me its usually 7 -10 business days. still haven't gotten it.

so now i'm livid and the only excuse i got when i called last night was "its the holidays, so it may be delayed". SEND ME MY FUCKING CARD.

i'm on the phone now to have them overnight it.